🎨 Illustrator – Eyedropper Picks Up Black Instead of the Actual Color

Question

When using the Eyedropper tool (I), Illustrator samples black instead of the visible color from an object (like a rectangle in your custom palette). The correct color only appears if you go through the Color Guide.

Possible solution:
A PNG image with transparency, even if it's locked in the Layers panel, can interfere with the Eyedropper tool. Illustrator ends up sampling a transparent pixel from the PNG rather than the color from the object underneath.

Open the Layers panel
Temporarily turn off the visibility of the PNG image (click the eye icon next to the layer)
Try the Eyedropper again — it should now correctly pick up the underlying color

💡 Even if the PNG is locked, Illustrator still “sees” it when using the Eyedropper. Visibility overrides locking in this context.

Hope it's helpful!

Abhishek Rao · Accepted Answer

Hi @Sabrina3594904643u7,

Thanks so much for sharing all these details and even including a possible solution.

You're absolutely right. In Illustrator, even if a PNG image is locked, the Eyedropper tool can still pick up transparent pixels from it because visibility takes priority over locking. Turning off the PNG layer’s visibility is a great workaround to ensure the Eyedropper samples the correct color from the object below.

If you continue facing this issue even after hiding the PNG or if it happens in other scenarios too, let me know which Illustrator version and OS you're using, and feel free to share a quick screen recording, so I can help you more precisely.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

Regístrese

Social Login

Bienvenido

Social Login

Escaneando el archivo en busca de virus

Este archivo no se puede descargar